-Isms: Views on life in rural America

I'm not sure who deserves credit for this line, but I want it emblazoned on a T-shirt: "I just love seeing people live their best lie-f on social media."

Much like tabloid journalism, you can spin a lie into your own warped version of reality. Post away. Some people will rush to hit the like button or type a half-hearted response without contemplating the validity of the original statement.

A quick scroll through social media proves this point. It doesn't matter if it's a half-truth, little white lie or a whale of a whopper, society is becoming numb when it comes to distinguishing fact from fiction on social platforms and in real life.

At some point, we've all told a lie. In fact, according to a study conducted at Michigan State University, 40% of adults in the United States reported spinning a lie in the last 24 hours. Think about it. What lie have you told in the last day? My little white lie involved getting an extra hour of snooze time Sunday morning.

Educational psychology teaches that between ages two and four, we tell our first lies, usually to our parents. Typically, at that age, fibbing isn't a cause for concern. It's a sign of cognitive development. The good news: most of us will grow out of it.

Researchers at University College London report that when individuals lie, brain activity in the amygdala changes. The amygdala controls how individuals process emotions and arousal. Basically, the more a person lies, the less it affects his or her emotions. Researchers also believe the more a lie benefits someone, the more dishonest the person becomes.

For those who never escape the hamster wheel of falsehoods, lies tend fall into two categories: people either lie about facts or values. Within those realms, lies are either told to others, or worse, to oneself.

The delusional liar, those who lie to themselves and others, tend to exaggerate because they cannot handle uncomfortable realities. It's the Pinocchio effect, a small lie snowballs into a never-ending, ever-growing jumbled mess. While some people have an uncontrollable need to be dishonest, a condition known as pseudologia fantastica, mental health practitioners believe pathological lying is a type of personality disorder, including narcissism, obsessive compulsive disorder, anxiety and antisocial personality disorder.

Delusional or pathological liars tend to set themselves up as either a hero or a victim. Lying can pave the way for exaggerated boasting or become a means of coping with a difficult situation.

In "The Brothers Karamazov," Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote, "The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others."

Sad thought, but from Dostoevsky's words, truth rings boldly. It reminds me of a time I told one of our kids that trust tarnishes once a lie is spoken. It takes a long time to repair the damage.

Isn't it easier to share the truth? Maybe as a teacher and journalist, I'm conditioned to look for and share facts. It makes it easier for me to form an opinion based on knowledge presente.

My parents always taught, telling the truth will set you free ... and it definitely makes it easy to respect the reflection in the mirror.